Woodster, I wasn't having a go at Tremlett, I think he's a good pick if fully fit. I was just saying that one should be cautious about praising his figures, given the somewhat unremarkable competiton he's had over the last two years.

Originally Posted by harsh.ag

Moeen killing it. Johnson's being thrashed. Poms going wild. A lady knitting on one of the upper seats.

Maybe on performance, but I hope to God the team isn't picked on the grounds of long-term planning. If there's a time and place for making selections on the basis of long-term planning, it's not at the start of an Ashes series.

Relax, Finn's in the side on merit. If this side were about future planning then Collingwood would definitely have been dropped for Morgan. As it is, he likely won't be.

Maybe on performance, but I hope to God the team isn't picked on the grounds of long-term planning. If there's a time and place for making selections on the basis of long-term planning, it's not at the start of an Ashes series.

No you're right and I don't think that will be one of the major factors for his inclusion, just a nice added bonus should he get the nod. But if it is a close selection between the two, maybe that may help his case.

The Ashes is certainly no place for that criteria to have a major bearing in selection.

Woodster, I wasn't having a go at Tremlett, I think he's a good pick if fully fit. I was just saying that one should be cautious about praising his figures, given the somewhat unremarkable competiton he's had over the last two years.

No I appreciate you weren't, nor was I trying to defend him to any great extent. My point was even if his figures were average this season, I think he'd have still had a good chance of going on this trip if he proved his fitness.

Originally Posted by Howe_zat

Relax, Finn's in the side on merit. If this side were about future planning then Collingwood would definitely have been dropped for Morgan. As it is, he likely won't be.

Finn is in the side on merit, quite right. When you are planning for the future though, you don't get rid of all your experience.

Relax, Finn's in the side on merit. If this side were about future planning then Collingwood would definitely have been dropped for Morgan. As it is, he likely won't be.

The way he has gone Colly wouldn't even have been on the tour after the summer he had if we were doing that.Think this is his last test series though to be honest.You could go with Morgan,Taylor,Rashid/AN Other next summer and just shuffle Bell up to 5,possibly even moving Prior to 6 if you went for Rashid at 7 as a 5th bowling option.

Well he's taken 30 odd Test wickets at a stupidly good average but he has essentially no meaningful Test experience at all. He's played four Tests against Bangladesh and four Tests against a hilariously bad Pakistan team who were regularly 30/4 by the time he came on. Extremely tall and relies on bounce without being particularly quick.

He's a promising young player but I think he'll struggle a bit TBH; I'd pick Tremlett ahead of him.

Are we talking about the Pakistan which actually had Aussies all out for 88?

On a serious note though....i think he would be a good prospect in Australia provided Jimmeh breaks down...

Why does Tremlett have such a good reputation.. is it because Warne talks him up, or is he brilliant in First Class cricket?

For one thing, he has a better FC bowling average than all of the other England bowlers in the side. And also a better test match average than Anderson and Broad. Granted that might not mean much but considering hes been playing half injured for the most part it isnt that bad either.

Regarding Finn, the version that I saw over the summer wasn't quite ready for test match cricket. He is a good prospect, but the impression that I get is that he needs to get accustomed to his new action and is not quite close to the finished product yet.

Tendulkar = the most overated player EVER!!
Beckham = the most overated footballer EVER!!
Vassell = the biggest disgrace since rikki clarke!!

Are we talking about the Pakistan which actually had Aussies all out for 88?

On a serious note though....i think he would be a good prospect in Australia provided Jimmeh breaks down...

Talking about Pakistan's batting, tbf.

As for Finn, his FC economy is slightly worrying (about 3.6) considering he's a supposedly consistent line and length bowler. Seemed a bit wayward in that first innings of the warm up game but its understandable at the beginning of a tour. Hope he's fine but happy with Tremors as a backup man.

As for Finn, his FC economy is slightly worrying (about 3.6) considering he's a supposedly consistent line and length bowler. Seemed a bit wayward in that first innings of the warm up game but its understandable at the beginning of a tour. Hope he's fine but happy with Tremors as a backup man.

He is probably not as consistently accurate as he would like to be, but I'm sure with more experience and understanding of his game, he will bring that economy down. He does bowl too many four-balls at the moment, he himself admits as much.

Long term planning for Finn was in evidence this Summer when he was hidden away for a monthlong "conditioning program" while Australia were in England. A similar program helped turn Broad from promise to reality last year.

He is probably not as consistently accurate as he would like to be, but I'm sure with more experience and understanding of his game, he will bring that economy down. He does bowl too many four-balls at the moment, he himself admits as much.

While this is true, I think you (and a few others who have posted) have to keep in mind that this thread was started in the Ashes 2010/11 forum, and not in Cricket Chat. Whether or not Finn has long-term potential isn't tremendously relevant to this season's Ashes, unless you think he's going to find that accuracy over the next couple of weeks.

Finn's decently quick without being express, gets a lot of bounce without making complete use of height, doesn't move the ball much and isn't consistently accurate. His Test experience so far is worth pretty much zero given the circumstances of it. He's pretty impressive for a man of his age and he could go far, but as far as this season's Ashes goes, I think he could be a bit of a weak link.